Prestigious nursing honour for Teesside University academic

A Teesside University academic who is helping to shape the next generation of nurses has been awarded a prestigious nursing title.

Denise Dye, lecturer in Community Nursing in the University’s School of Health & Life Sciences, has received the title of Queen’s Nurse from the Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI).

The QNI grants the honorary title of Queen’s Nurse to community nurses who have demonstrated a high level of commitment to patient care and improving nursing practice as leaders and role models.

“I first went into nursing as a single mother, aged 22,” said Denise, who is now a married mum-of-five. “I initially worked as a cardiology nurse, which I started while completing my nursing studies, before becoming a substance misuse nurse in a female prison.

“It involved helping to better engage the prisoners with healthcare and helping to educate them on accessing medical care. From that role, I became interested in academic work and also moved across to become a community staff nurse with a hospital trust in North Yorkshire.

“I was a community sister for a number of years, before qualifying as a SPQDN specialist practitioner in district nursing. I completed the SPQDN qualification at Teesside University.

“That led me into mentoring and more academic work as an associate lecturer. It was a natural progression to join the University to teach full-time. Being able to combine teaching with my knowledge from practice is a dream role.”

Denise, who joined Teesside University as an academic around a year ago, said: “It does feel incredible to receive this honour. It’s something I never thought I would attain. It’s great to be able to access the QNI network and have all that shared insight.

She added: “My husband’s grandmother, Constance, was also a Queen’s Nurse and we still have her certificate, which we plan to display alongside my award. I never got to meet her, but our third daughter is named after her.”

Queen’s Nurses have at least five years’ experience of working in a community setting and undergo a rigorous selection process to receive the title. There are almost 2,000 Queen’s Nurses working across England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Channel Islands and Isle of Man.

The QNI is a registered charity dedicated to improving the nursing care of people in their own homes. As well as providing nurses and nursing teams with skills and knowledge to work in the home, the QNI funds projects led by community nurses and influences policies which affect community nursing services and healthcare in the home.

Professor Tim Thompson, Dean of the School of Health & Life Sciences, said: “We are immensely proud that Denise has been awarded this prestigious honour in recognition of her enthusiasm and commitment to ensuring community nurses, who study with us, can develop their knowledge and skills.

“I am sure she will continue to inspire future generations of community nurses in her teaching at Teesside University.”

Speaking at the QNI annual awards ceremony in London, where Denise was among those receiving their honour, Dr Crystal Oldman CBE, QNI Chief Executive, said: “As nurses in the community today, you work in a very different world to that of the original Queen’s Nurses. You have more opportunities for practice development than the original Queen’s Nurses could ever have imagined.

“You have the knowledge and skills to assess, diagnose, treat and prescribe for your patients; and you have more influential roles in your communities, in public health and in health protection. But with these opportunities come new challenges, which we expect you, as Queen’s Nurses, to rise to.”

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